Monthly Archives: December 2013

Do you believe that human beings have souls? Do you believe in the soul?

I’ve spent the last week reading a book Sister Julie lent to me called The Seat of the Soul. The author, Gary Zukav, writes rather authoritatively about the soul, Angels, life on other planets, karma, reincarnation, and an abundance of other mind-expanding ideas which have yet to be scientifically proven yet resonate with that inner part of many of us that seems to know without knowing. Ya know?

I was about to write “I’m not completely sold on the idea of the soul,” and then I just realized that the soul is really just a word. Just a shape to fill a lack, as William Faulkner once said. I do believe in a nonphysical part of us that exists beyond the physical body and brain, and largely that seems to be what Zukav calls the soul, so I suppose we are in agreement!

One idea I’ve reconnected with after exploring Zukav’s work is the idea of the Higher Self, which he may or may not very subtlety distinguish from the soul. Zukav says that our souls consciously choose to come to the Earth school for healing, and the healing occurs when we connect with the Higher Self and act on the inspiration that is aligned with the Higher Self. According to Zukav, we have a personality, very similar to the idea of the ego, and the soul. Healing occurs when we let go of the desires of the personality and focus on fulfilling the desires of the soul. The personality may want to be angry or resent or blame, but the soul thrives on forgiveness, being compassionate, gentle, kind, and loving. Something to think about 🙂

The Higher Self always opts for the actions and qualities that you might associate with God or virtue. the lower self / ego / personality is what might choose destructive attitudes or behaviors that generate disease, disharmony, or pain.

Pain, by the way, Zukav distinguishes from suffering. Suffering, he says, has meaning and therefore can be endured. Suffering is pain when we’re aware of the Higher Perspective / Divine Reason operating and understanding that what we’re experiencing is necessary for the healing of our soul and spiritual development. So, next time you’re experiencing pain, consider what you might learn from that experience, how it might benefit you in the long-run, and find some peace in that 🙂 Every event, no matter how evil or wrong it might seem, is really our servant in that it’s offering us exactly what we need for our growth and conscious evolution.

One last interesting tidbit to share before I go on to finish this gem of a book…he says you cannot nurture the body and mind if you do not know they exist. Just so, you cannot nurture the soul unless you know it exists. Furthermore, to nurture mind, body, and soul, you must understand how they work, what they desire, and what strengthen and weaken them. So…food for thought!

Consider…

What contributes to the health of my mind? What contributes to the health of my body? What contributes to the health of my soul?

Let it go. Release the past! Be here. In the Now! The now is where you have all your power. If you give your attention to the past or the future, particularly in a dwelling fashion, you’re disempowering yourself. It’s valuable to look to the past in a reflective mode to learn from it, but dwelling on it or regretting past decisions serves no good. Then again, everything serves some good in that it allows you just the opportunity you need for your growth and conscious evolution! Even the greatest pain you’ve ever experienced has served it’s purpose for you, and if you look to that pain and ask, “What can I learn from this? What message is this offering me? What can I be grateful for about this experience?” an abundance of wonderful reasons and deeper understanding will very likely emerge in your consciousness.

Enjoying life comes when we practice patience with ourselves and give the gift of discerning the meaning behind our life experiences. Everything most definitely happens for a reason, and when you can tune into the Divine Reason underlying exactly every moment that’s unfolded in your life, then you’re also tuning into an incredible source of power and connection and understanding that frees you to thrive and flourish in this wonderful creation.

It requires the same energy to celebrate, smile, and rejoice as it does to dwell, suffer, and sulk. You can use the same energy you use to laugh as you use to feel angry. The same energy is used to feel compassion towards people as is used to feel resentment. Think about this. How the energy is used is under your control. You are powerful! You can choose to forgive or resent, to love or to hate. It’s all your choice. It’s all consciousness. All energy. Use it as you will, and just remember that you have the power. The blame game seems popular among some circles of people, but realize blame is an illusion. You are responsible for your life, your thoughts, feelings, and everything you experience! Such is the gift of God. We can choose happiness each and every moment if we so desire 🙂

This morning I listened to Joel O’Steen talk about “Get Over It.” Whatever it is you’re holding onto that’s holding you back, get over it. Let it go. If you’re resenting another, realizing we’re all just doing the best we can, and you’d likely do the exact same thing if you were in their situation. We’re all here learning and growing. We are learning! We are this planet to learn and grow and evolve and realize our power and the power of Love and the Kingdom Within and Beyond, and some of us get there faster than others, and certainly for anyone who has arrived, help your neighbor!

My dad shared a story with me this morning he heard from his minister. “If you see a turtle on a stump, someone put him there. Similarly, if you see a Christian, someone helped him become a Christian. So as a Christian, the responsibility is to show people the light who are not there.” Put yourself on that glorious stump and help put more turtles on the stump! Choose the loving, compassionate, gentle, forgiving way. And also, if you’d like, sprinkle on a bit of love and reverence and you’ve got what is darn close to a perfect experience, serene at the least!

What you focus on is what you create. What you give your attention grows.

Your thoughts create reality! Wahhhh. Craziness!

Anything that you can perceive in physical reality first existed as a thought in the form of an idea. Everything begins as an idea. So if you want to experience a life of greater health, happiness, harmony, friendship, contribution, prosperity, success, and fulfillment, you’ve got to begin with thinking about your ideal life. See it in the mind’s eye. Or write out the details of it. Feel it. Invest your energy into experiencing in your imagination, and soon enough you’ll realize it in your physical reality. Everything begins in thought, so start where you are now and dream away! Dream of your abundant life where you have everything you need and more and are contributing in wonderful ways to the highest good of all humanity and Mother Nature and this wonderful Universe. See yourself as your Highest, your Ideal of all Ideals, write it down, focus on it, and slowly but surely you’ll move in that direction and realize it’s fulfillment step by step. The more energy you give to the good you desire, the more of that good you will experience. Likewise, if you give your energy and attention to negative qualities about yourself or people or the world, then that’s what you’ll experience.

Your experience is entirely in your control. Accept this responsibility for you to choose what you focus on create the reality of your dreams 🙂 Please, for all of us! Thrive and flourish. The very best this world has to offer is your birthright.

The Universe wants you to have what you desire, which is why it is constantly listening to your thoughts and feelings and returning exactly what you focus on. The Universe gave us the gift of free will to choose our thoughts and to choose what we give our attention to, so it assumes that we’ve accepted this responsibility and are consciously thinking about what we desire, and thus the Universe goes to work to bring us the fulfillment of all of our thoughts and feelings. Especially the thoughts we hold with more powerful emotions like love and gratitude and reverence, the Universe loves to fulfill those thoughts quickly and easily. Why? Because when we think about anything with an attitude of love and gratitude and reverence, ultimately that attitude is projected upon a microcosm of the Universe, so the Universe receives that as Love and Gratitude and Reverence towards Itself, which it is.

The more you adapt an attitude of gratitude and love, deeply appreciation all Life brings to you, the more you are expressing your love to the creative force that brings you Here & Now in this Present Moment, and the more that creative force receives your love and mirrors it back to you in abundance.

Speaking of mirrors, the Universe is a mirror! Meaning, anytime you judge another, you are ultimately judging yourself. Even better, whenever you give your love fully and completely to another, you are acknowledging the love that is in you. The good you see in people is a reflection of the good that is in you, so by all means – keep seeing the good in all people. See everyone for the creative genius and child of God that they are and love them completely no matter what. Give as much love as you can as often as you can, and living this way you’ll likely never need to concern about your personal needs again.

Our responsibility as human beings is to our thought which creates our feelings which catalyze our actions. We have the power to choose our thoughts, thereby creating our feelings and generating wonderful actions unfolding in the Universe. Choose thoughts of love and the Universe will abundantly support you in all your endeavors, as it always has 🙂

At the end of an awesome summer experience, all of the 4Trails Leaders wrote letters to ourselves that we were told we’d receive during the winter season. Sure enough, just opened my letter to self, and must say I’m quite inspired. And, because it’s Here & Now in the Present Moment and All is Good, I see no reason why not to share it in full. Besides, what if I get blown up by a missile in the 21 minutes and then possibly no one except myself would ever get to see the letter, and wouldn’t that just be a-little-less-than-best? So why not share it? For my eyes only? Never! Living openly is fun and liberating. Of course, you are under no obligation to read the letter, but by all means, feel free to enjoy it thoroughly. As the letter attests, I’m into ideas. And without further ado…

…

Dear Self, 8/16/13, Here + Now

Oneness. Unity. Light. Love. Peace. Joy. Yoga. Hallelujah!

Remember: the Guru is always with you, in every part of you, essentially You.

Everything is offering you a message for your growth and expansion to Higher Consciousness.

The truth is Powerful. Use technology for the Greater Good!

As Best you can, set a worthy example all the time! Operate by the Highest Standard, and slow down and ask questions if you are unsure or desire guidance.

The Guru Within / Indweller / Christ Spirit knows.

Beauty in every blade of grass.

Smile. Look around the circle and count the smiles, feel the goodness, warmth, and radiate from the heart-center.

Self-going forward, remember the words of Thomas Jefferson,

“Act as if the whole world is watching.”

Look to Lincoln, too. Any + all heroes of history are eagerly waiting to assist you in any way possible.

Ask and you shall receive.

“Breathe, smile, go slowly.” Every 15 minutes.

Consider, “What’s the next step to human evolution?” and act on that intuition.

Trust the Inner-Voice.

Enjoy that which is for all – the simple, sustainable, spiritual treasures – the gifts freely bestowed upon you at birth.

Cherish. Delight. Live a fullydedicated Life, in Love + Service to the Highest Good of All!

IdeasWorthSpreading

Play. Connect. Communicate.

Inspire. Educate. Enlighten.

Free. To enjoy, experience the Bliss + Goodness Always.

Ask, “What’s most important?” God. Goodness. Peace.

Peace is a wonderful guiding Light.

“I am Siva: the Source of All Goodness.”

Cultivate the creative, flowing, harmonious expression.

Accept…enjoy…enthusiasm!

Celebrate Life! Live in the Miracle of the Here + Now.

Everything brings you to this moment. Cherish it and delight in the unconditional connection of it all.

Choose your standard. Solidify your Power in the Tubes of Light. Cultivate the Highest Self and let the world go.

The quality of your communication depends on the quality of what you eat. And for the sake of clarity, eating is the same as consuming. So, we communicate based upon what we consume. If we consume pure foods, thoughts, and experiences, then our communication is pure and wholesome. If, on the other hand, we consume unhealthy foods or foods manufactured under pretenses of violence, and if we expose our consciousness to fear-based media and pessimistic people and conversation, and if we go around the world judging people and harboring sentiments of separation and worry, then that is exactly what we’ll communicate.

If you consume that which is holy, clean, and pure, that’s exactly how you’ll communicate with yourself, with all people, and with the universe. The more you consume consciously that which nourishes the body, mind, heart, and soul, the more your moment-to-moment experience will blossom and the more wonders you will perceive. Wonders abound if you simply look for them, however it can hard to be conscious enough to look for the wonders when we’ve been unconsciously consuming anything that is violent or destructive.

Whatever you do, do it in love. Love, love, love! And how can you do it with love? It begins with conscious. You have the freedom to choose! You can choose to consciously consume with love and think with love and experience your reality with love. You can consciously choose to focus on the spiritual dimension of reality – the unseen, nonphysical, and long-term – or you can focus on the physical, short-term sensory experience. The body might want to consume foods and thoughts and experiences that stem from violence and destruction and disease, but what does the soul want? What kind of nourishment is your soul asking for? And how can you give that nourishment to the soul?

Each moment offers us an opportunity to experience love, gratitude, and to smile deeply and joyfully. We can breathe deeply and enjoy our awareness in the present moment. We are free to choose, free to focus on whatever it is we desire. The more we accept responsibility for this great power and gift of choice, the more we can begin to consciously create and realize the fulfillment of all of our heart’s deepest desires and dreams.

If you can dream it, you can do it. It begins right here and right now, appreciating what you already have. Look around you with love. Tell everything – animate and inanimate objects alike – that you love it. Love the physical and nonphysical; the seen and the unseen. It’s all with you now in the present moment, so you might as well embrace it with love, and just maybe it will love you back, abundantly. 🙂

As much as you can, approach each and every moment of your life with a sense of love and gratitude – deeply appreciate what is – and allow yourself to be amazed as your gift of love and gratitude to your present moment is multiplied in abundance. As you sow, so shall you reap. Sow the seeds of love and gratitude, and soon enough you’ll reap an abundance of dreams come true and have all the more reason to be even more loving and grateful towards your present moment. It begins right here and right now by appreciating what you’ve already been given. Body, mind, heart, soul – incredible gifts. You are endowed with infinite potential, and anything you can imagine in the mind, you can manifest in your physical reality. It’s simply a matter of focusing on what you most deeply desire and giving thinks for it as though it is already real, because it is real as soon as you imagine it. Be grateful in all circumstances 🙂 Miracles and blessings abound, sometimes in disguise. Look with the discerning, spiritual eyes to see the goodness, beauty, and Spirit in every circumstance. Each moment is offering you exactly what you need to learn, grow, and become more conscious and aware. Tis a wonderful creation indeed!

…

So what does all this mean for what you eat and what you consume on a day-by-day, moment-to-moment basis? Simply, consume with an awareness. Love whatever it is you are consuming and be grateful for it. Consider yourself a consumer of the present moment, and look for the good in each and every moment. Love it. Consciously. Choose. Embrace your authentic power. You are a co-heir with Christ and co-creator with God, here to bring Heaven to Earth as best you can. The Creator wants you to enjoy each and every moment of life as best you can and experience the fulfillment of all your deepest desires – that’s why the Creator listens constantly and receives every thought and feeling as a prayer request. So choose wisely. Embrace consciousness and your magnificent ability to choose. Focus and create 🙂 Consume with an awareness of love and gratitude and you can only do good and wonderful things.

Let’s learn from them. Let’s study what they do, read their books, know their story, and practice the principles they preach.

People who actually practice what they preach are few and far between, and I think when humanity is gifted with a rare individual or two who actually abides by the word they say is truth and wisdom, we would all greatly benefit from listening to them and attempting to understand their teachings and way of being.

Too often do we corner the teachings of Jesus or Buddha into a religion and forget that they are not only leaders of a religious tradition but they’re also examples of human life worthy of emulation. So, even if you don’t believe in the doctrine / dogma of Christianity or Buddhism or any religious tradition, you can at least open yourself up to studying the lives of great individuals who inspired countless millions to follow their lead. Not saying you should conform – definitely don’t conform! – but instead, study openly. A great way to benefit the world is to benefit yourself by growing in understanding of how to live a wonderful life that grows people in love and compassion and connection to each other.

Who do you know that lights up the world? Would you like to light up the world as they do? It is your birthright! The very best this world has to offer is most definitely your birthright, and if you commit yourself to receiving what is yours by divine right, you can experience an abundance of abundances. Jesus and Buddha lived fantastic lives, and even when they were abused, they connected with the Kingdom Within, and their external suffering could not compromise their internal peace. Happiness is a choice, beginning with thought. Expose the mind to wonderful thoughts, such as those shared by Jesus and Buddha, and allow your own live to grow in wonder and splendor each and every day. What you think about is what you will become, so if you think about the lives of exceptional human beings, you will become one and experience all the abundances of goodness this world has to offer.

For many of the experiments I do, whether it’s attempting to live on only hemp seeds and a multi-vitamin for 30 days, blindfolding myself for a week, living without money, living on the streets, or wearing a watch that beeps every 7 minutes, I receive feedback from people questioning whether what I’m doing adds any value to humanity or if it’s just a purely selfish pursuit. Now I’d like to address my perspective on the matter.

Firstly, the experiments I do are intended to raise my own consciousness and awareness. By doing that, I grow in understanding of the universe and of what it means to be human. With greater understanding, I am then more empowered to communicate in a way that is aligned with the Truth, which generally means greater love and compassion 🙂 Essentially, you might say the experiments are experiments to facilitate personal growth, and by growing as an individual, the collective grows too.

It’s easy to focus on the problems of the world and think that all is hopeless and there’s too much nonsense occurring at any given moment to even know where to start, however I think if we look to some of the great men and women of history, they’ll all tell us to begin at the exact same place…with ourselves! “Be the change you want to see in the world,” as Gandhi said.

No one of great success, however they chose to define success, succeeded by spending all of their time worrying about the problems of the world. Instead, what they did, I believe, was turn their gaze inward. They had an internal dialogue that went something like this: “Okay – I perceive many problems in the world. Meanwhile, I am one person, so what can I do as an individual to move this world in the right direction, if only with one step and one breath at a time? How can I personally grow in peace, love, joy, and compassion? For I know that as I grow in compassion, if only a little bit, the whole world collectively grows in compassion.”

As Thomas Merton so eloquently put it:

“To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to the violence of our times.”

We cannot help everyone. Assuredly, the one person we can always help is ourselves. And as we help ourselves, we help the world. We can only give what we have, and what many of us really want most is simply an experience of peace, friendship, happiness, connection, joy, love, kindness, health, you name it. So, if you are to give someone friendship or health or happiness, you’ve first got to have it yourself! To grow the world in compassion, grow yourself in compassion! Love yourself more and more to love the entire world more!

Nourish the body and mind – treat yourself as a channel for the Divine to flow through. You are a sacred being and are worthy of the very best that this creation has to offer, and you can have it all if you believe you can. Open up to the Kingdom that is within you, realize your great potential, smile abundantly, and share your awareness of love and goodness with the entire world. If you find yourself judging people, ultimately you are judging yourself, so stop that 😉 One way you can love yourself more is by loving everyone! “Beautify the mind,” as James Allen put it. Flood your consciousness with the wealth of wisdom of the great teachers like Jesus and Buddha and all those luminaries.

Personal growth fundamentally begins with changing your thoughts. As you change your thoughts and the words you use – becoming more aware of your language – every aspect of your being will change too. Especially in the morning is a great time to affirm the very best of yourself and of all the world. Say to yourself, “I’m a masterpiece!” and sure enough you are, and you’ll begin to realize and share more abundantly the masterpiece that is you with all the world.

As I heard from either Steve Pavlina or Eckhart Tolle, “The most important relationship in your life is the one you have with the present moment.” And why is that? Because in the moment are your thoughts and your feelings and your awareness. No where else do you exist but in the present moment! So, to “be the change you want to see in the world,” begin in this present moment. Look around you and soak in your present moment. If you want to see a world with more love in it, look around you and tell everything in your present moment that you love it, if only mentally. Deeply appreciate what you are experiencing Here & Now, express gratitude for it all, regardless of what it is. Just love it and be grateful for it, simply for being! And even if you might not feel the love and gratitude for it…perhaps the best advice I’ve ever received…fake it until you make it! Fake the thoughts of love and gratitude for all your present moment offers you, and soon enough you’ll begin to feel the truth of the love and gratitude and your awareness will expand to realizing the wonder in the present moment, which slowly but surely transforms into a Wonderful Moment.

Each and every moment of your life can be filled with a sense of love, gratitude, and wonder if you allow it be. It’s all a matter of accepting responsibility for the quality of your experience and choose to focus on the good that you desire for yourself and for everyone.

You can let go of the problems of the world and turn your gaze within. Focus on yourself, be the change you want to see in the world, and step by step, you are making the world a more wonderful place.